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There can be few more mesmerizing historical narratives than the story of how the confident monarchy left by Louis XIV in 1715 became the discredited failure toppled by revolution in 1789. This brilliant new book is the first in forty years to describe the whole period, from the last days of the “Sun King” to the wars of Napoleon. In a groundbreaking work of scholarship, Colin Jones argues that, contrary to popular belief, the house of Bourbon’s downfall was hardly a foregone conclusion. Producing an illuminating account of a society torn apart from within, he recounts the saga of how a dynamic French society—the heart of the Enlightenment—fell prey to the debt and humiliation of its wars against Britain.

About The Author

Colin Jones is professor of history at the University of Warwick, England.

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Table of Contents

Acknowledgements

Introduction

Maps

1. France in 1715: The King's Leg and the Choreography of Powera) The Mythic Present of the Sun Kingb) The Bourbon Polityc) The King's Nobilityd) Absolutism under Pressuree) The Dreaded Regency

2. Negotiating Stormy Weather: The Regency and the Advent of Fleury (1715-26)a) Hope beyond Sunsetb) The Polysynody Experimentc) Princes, Dukes and Magistrates: A New Fronde?d) The Financial and Economic Context of the Regancye) A Scottish Wizard in a Land of Troublesf) The Childhood of Louis XV: Six Funerals and a Wedding

4. Unsuspected Golden Years (1743-56)a) Herold 'the Well-Beloved'?b) The Balance of Power and the Globalization of Warfarec) Flexing the Sinews of Ward) Vital Signs in Rural Francee) Health and Wealth by Stealth5. An Enlightening Agea) The Moment of the Encyclopédieb) Points of Lightc) Civilised Man, Natural Womand) Re-enchanting a Disenchanted Worlde) The Contested Politics of the Public Sphere

7. The Triumvirate and Its Aftermath(1771-84)a) Maupeou's Revolutionb) The Turgot Experimentc) Patriotism à l'Américained) The Price of Patriotisme) Figaro's Masters

8. Bourbon Monarchy on the Rack (1784-8)a) Diamonds: Not a Queen's Best Friendb) The Appearance of Luxury and the Luxury of Appearancesc) Silent Revolution in an Age of Noised) The Elusive Public: Financial and Institutional Reform

9. Revolution in Political Culture (1789-91)a) Imagining the Nation, Fearing the Worstb) Summer Lightningc) The Task of Political Architectured) Demolition Problems